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Intelligence and the State: Analysts and Decision Makers
In the eighty years since Pearl Harbor, the United States has developed a professional intelligence community that is far more effective than most people acknowledge--in part because only intelligence failures see the light of day, while successful collection and analysis remain secret for decades. Intelligence and the State explores the relationship between the community tasked to research and assess intelligence and the national decision makers it serves.
The book argues that in order to accept intelligence as a profession, it must be viewed as a non-partisan resource to assist key players in understanding foreign societies and leaders. Those who review these classified findings are sometimes so invested in their preferred policy outcomes that they refuse to accept information that conflicts with preconceived notions. Rather than demanding that intelligence evaluations conform to administration policies, a wise executive should welcome a source of information that has not "drunk the Kool-Aid" by supporting a specific policy decision. Jonathan M. House offers a brief overview of the nature of national intelligence, and especially of the potential for misperception and misunderstanding on the part of executives and analysts. Furthermore, House examines the rise of intelligence organizations first in Europe and then in the United States. In those regions fear of domestic subversion and radicalism drove the need for foreign surveillance. This perception of a domestic threat tempted policy makers and intelligence officers alike to engage in covert action and other policy-based, partisan activities that colored their understanding of their adversaries. Such biases go far to explain the inability of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to predict and deal effectively with their opponents.
The development of American agencies and their efforts differed to some degree from these European precedents but experienced some of the same problems as the Europeans, especially during the early decades of the Cold War. By now, however, the intelligence community has become a stable and effective part of the national security structure. House concludes with a historical examination of familiar instances in which intelligence allegedly failed to warn national leaders of looming attacks, ranging from the 1941 German invasion of the USSR to the Arab surprise attack on Israel in 1973.
The book argues that in order to accept intelligence as a profession, it must be viewed as a non-partisan resource to assist key players in understanding foreign societies and leaders. Those who review these classified findings are sometimes so invested in their preferred policy outcomes that they refuse to accept information that conflicts with preconceived notions. Rather than demanding that intelligence evaluations conform to administration policies, a wise executive should welcome a source of information that has not "drunk the Kool-Aid" by supporting a specific policy decision. Jonathan M. House offers a brief overview of the nature of national intelligence, and especially of the potential for misperception and misunderstanding on the part of executives and analysts. Furthermore, House examines the rise of intelligence organizations first in Europe and then in the United States. In those regions fear of domestic subversion and radicalism drove the need for foreign surveillance. This perception of a domestic threat tempted policy makers and intelligence officers alike to engage in covert action and other policy-based, partisan activities that colored their understanding of their adversaries. Such biases go far to explain the inability of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to predict and deal effectively with their opponents.
The development of American agencies and their efforts differed to some degree from these European precedents but experienced some of the same problems as the Europeans, especially during the early decades of the Cold War. By now, however, the intelligence community has become a stable and effective part of the national security structure. House concludes with a historical examination of familiar instances in which intelligence allegedly failed to warn national leaders of looming attacks, ranging from the 1941 German invasion of the USSR to the Arab surprise attack on Israel in 1973.
248 pages, Hardcover
First published April 15, 2022
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48 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan M. House
26 books18 followersJonathan M. House is an American military historian and author. He is a professor emeritus of military history at the United States Army Command and General Staff College. House is a leading authority on Soviet military history, with an emphasis on World War II and the Soviet influence upon modern operational doctrine. Together with David M. Glantz, he wrote multiple books on the Red Army operations on the Eastern Front, most notably When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 20, 2022
Intelligence and the State: Analysts and Decision Makers by Jonathan M House offers an excellent history of intelligence in general and United States intelligence in particular with an eye toward establishing the need for an independently operating intelligence structure that still answers to and supports the political decision makers.
This topic is of particular interest to me because my father was a part of this community. During WWII he started as a Navy radioman, which in subsequent changes became, for his area of the rating, communications technicians and finally cryptologic technicians. By the time he retired as a chief, he had been involved with various organizations and the early on the roof gang. Finally he worked as a civilian at Fort Meade with Naval Security Group. So this history has always fascinated me. All I did in the Navy was electronics technician/reactor operator on subs.
This book will appeal to those interested primarily in the history aspect since it covers a lot of the key personnel and events. It will also appeal to, and is geared toward, those concerned with both the efficient operation of the intelligence community and its treatment as a profession that demands to be treated as such. This demand is not just for prestige, it is so that heads of departments will be professionals in the field and not political appointees that will abuse the access to such information and networks.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
This topic is of particular interest to me because my father was a part of this community. During WWII he started as a Navy radioman, which in subsequent changes became, for his area of the rating, communications technicians and finally cryptologic technicians. By the time he retired as a chief, he had been involved with various organizations and the early on the roof gang. Finally he worked as a civilian at Fort Meade with Naval Security Group. So this history has always fascinated me. All I did in the Navy was electronics technician/reactor operator on subs.
This book will appeal to those interested primarily in the history aspect since it covers a lot of the key personnel and events. It will also appeal to, and is geared toward, those concerned with both the efficient operation of the intelligence community and its treatment as a profession that demands to be treated as such. This demand is not just for prestige, it is so that heads of departments will be professionals in the field and not political appointees that will abuse the access to such information and networks.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
April 11, 2022
This a really interesting book for anyone curious about how intelligence works and what it means for those who use it.
"Intel" is a phrase that is thrown around a lot, especially since 9/11, but few people truly know what it is or how it is used. Intelligence and the State does a wonderful job highlighting what exactly intelligence is, who is involved in the collection, analysis, dissemination, and use of it. He also does a great job highlighting some of the shortcomings or flaws with intel and the intel community.
If nothing else, the first 2-3 chapters would be great reading for anyone who thinks they know what intel is, but has never been an active consumer of it. And the depth that House brings to the table as far as the history and applications of intelligence is really fascinating.
As a consumer of intel in a past career, I'd be more than comfortable recommending this book to anyone who wants to learn what intel is actually all about.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the Naval Institute Press for an advanced review copy in exchange for my honest opinions.
"Intel" is a phrase that is thrown around a lot, especially since 9/11, but few people truly know what it is or how it is used. Intelligence and the State does a wonderful job highlighting what exactly intelligence is, who is involved in the collection, analysis, dissemination, and use of it. He also does a great job highlighting some of the shortcomings or flaws with intel and the intel community.
If nothing else, the first 2-3 chapters would be great reading for anyone who thinks they know what intel is, but has never been an active consumer of it. And the depth that House brings to the table as far as the history and applications of intelligence is really fascinating.
As a consumer of intel in a past career, I'd be more than comfortable recommending this book to anyone who wants to learn what intel is actually all about.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the Naval Institute Press for an advanced review copy in exchange for my honest opinions.
February 1, 2022
Full of the interesting history of the Intelligence Community, U.S.-related and abroad as well which was a huge bonus. I felt like I need to re-read this with a big whiteboard to do a full complete timeline and dive fully into more of the history that was occurring at the times Jonathan M. House mentions in this book because it was full of facts and history. Intelligence and the State give a brief history on the well-known Intel community and their jobs we know of (as a civilian). Speaking as a civilian, the wording, context, and explanations are easy to follow along with and truly learn something new. If you are in the government or within the community, there is still plenty to learn from Jonathan M, House, a great teacher, and writer.
February 8, 2022
Dr. House does not disappoint. After years of co-authoring and authoring in his own right books on the Soviet Army in the Second World War retired Colonel House provides a much-needed understanding of how Military Intelligence has worked in our nation's history. The modern invention of a professional military intelligence service in the Second World War House details both successes and failures within the art. Excellent and well worth the time.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews